So we reach the final chapter of our study on the names of God and this chapter is a great ending to a wonderful study.  Kay Arthur introduces the last name in our study, Jehovah-shammah, The Lord Is There.  This name was a promise to a captive people – it was a hope given to them that the future would hold something better.  Kay Arthur asks us – do we ever feel like we are living in captivity?  Are we stuck in a difficult situation?  Are we under persecution?  Are we imprisoned by sickness? Do we need the a promise and a hope?  Paul definitely knew what it felt like to be stuck in a bad situation but find hope in it: But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith (Phil 3:7-9).  Again, Paul counsels us as to how we can remain victorious in spite of our circumstances: If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth (Col 3:1-2)…again: So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,  as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal (2 Cor 4:16-18).  

I read a very touching blog entry today by a young woman who lost the battle with a chronic illness this month.  Her name was Sara.  She had been in overwhelming pain as long as she could remember, couldn’t walk, and was exhausted all of the time.  She had other people get her groceries and clean her house.  Due to immunosuppression issues and her physical limitations, she was basically confined to her condo beginning at the age of 29; she was 38 when she died this month.  In a posting about a year ago, a close friend talked with her about the difficulty of her life and here is a portion of her response:

“How do you manage to stay so positive? So happy? Don’t you ever just get really mad?”

I suppose the cop out answer, while true, is that I just don’t have the energy to be mad. Seriously. It takes so much effort and energy to wallow. And it’s not any fun. I live 99.8% of my time alone, and if anger was all I had to live with I would lose my mind.

I think, for me, it has been about learning to want what He wants for me more than what I want for myself.It’s a tall order and I don’t say that flippantly. But my joy has truly come from Him finding His joy in me rather than me finding my joy in what I desire. It doesn’t mean I don’t long for different, it just means I find peace in fulfilling rather than understanding. In the knowledge that this life isn’t about me, it’s about Him.

The thing I try to remind myself of, as I am without all the things that I wish I had to make me happy, is that my biggest need is Him.

Check out her inspiring story here, but grab a whole box of Kleenex!

Our chapter goes on to talk about the situation of the children of Israel, who were in captivity in Babylon, how they had earned God’s judgement and then were given His mercy. In the end, God promised that He would be there for them, with them, in Jerusalem when they returned from their exile, that He would be Jehovah-shammah, The Lord Is There.  KA shows that Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of that promise.  He is Immanuel – God With Us.  So here is the take home point I think we should remember this week: We ARE like those Israelites living in captivity – strangers in a strange land.  My sister told her adolescent children, “Don’t worry if you feel out of place at school, if you feel like you don’t belong – you DON”T…as long as you are serving Christ, you will be at odds with the world”.  I love that – that is some good advice and not just for adolescents.  Another close friend had the same talk with her son this week, he’s just eight years old.  I am 42 and I haven’t outgrown that feeling either, that feeling of being out of place in the world, that my life and goals are so different from many others.  But though we ARE strangers in a strange land, we are never alone, He is with us now – and we have the hope of being completely with Him in Eternity.  We are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil (2 Cor 5:6-10).

JustaGirl…just like you!